The Taming of the Keeper
by ChasingTheKeeper
Summary: Amid snow, ice, rain and sun, there remained one constant in Katie Bell's life: her absolute and undying hatred of Oliver Wood. What happens when that constant is taken away?
1. Chapter 1

Leaning back into the plushness of the train's seat, I heaved a sigh of relief as the train jolted back into motion. The train had stopped for a good thirty minutes, or so it felt, and nothing like that had ever happened in my previous five rides to the school. It had been a bit unsettling to say the least. Angelina Johnson, one of my closest friends, had leaned closer to the window and just began to look for the source of the trouble when the power went out. All she managed to whisper was, "There's something out there..." before the compartment lapsed into silence. Hence my relief when the lights came back on and the train began moving.

Honestly, I was scared out of my wits. Not that I would ever admit that to Lina or Christine Richards, the other girl in the compartment with us. Some Gryffindor I am, scared to death just because the train stopped. Well, I guess there was something out there so that could be a reasonable purpose for my being frightened. But still, I'm a bloody lion! I'm supposed to be brave for Merlin's sake. Oh well, now was not the time to question the Sorting Hat's decision.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" ranted Angelina in her usual blunt manner. To which Christine retorted, "Well Lina, if we knew, Katie wouldn't be freaking out like she is at the moment... well, that or she might be freaking out more."

I threw my book bag at her in protest, then added "I am not freaking out!"

"Oh calm down Katie," Lina told me, "all of us were freaking out...and watch when you throw things, you're stronger than you think." This made me pass a worried glance at Christine, who at the moment was tenderly rubbing her arm I had hit with my book bag. Perhaps I should be careful when I threw things. I suppose I just don't pay attention to stuff like that. But with my years of quidditch training I did have good aim and a strong arm. Note to self: unless aiming to harm, be sure to throw gently.

"Anyway," Lina said falsely cheerful; it was evident she was trying to get what just happened out of all of our minds. "I never got to finish asking, not before that...whatever that was…. How was everyone's summer?"

I rushed to talk before Christine could. She's a sweet girl and fun to be around, but once she starts talking, she doesn't stop. "Mine was quite enjoyable, actually. I spent part of the summer in France with my brother and his fiancée. Saw some awesome quidditch matches of course...you should have seen the Arrows take on Puddlemere! It was a great game... since Ian is on the team he got me seats in the top box. Absolutely amazing, but you'll never guess who I had the unfortunate luck to run into..."

Before I could continue (I guess I talked a lot too at times, but honest to Merlin I'm not as bad as Christine) both Lina and Christine said in unison "Oliver Wood."

My startled expression must have been very apparent for Lina answered my unasked question. "Honestly Kate, its all you ever talk about. Oliver this, Oliver that. You would think you were in love with the guy, not hate his guts."

"It is not all I ever talk about! I talk about other things too.... like…like quidditch and such!" Oh I was upset now. "And besides! It's not my fault he's an insufferable prick who spreads nasty rumors about people! And if I do talk about him, it's not in a _good_ way."

"Well Katie I seem to remember a time when you didn't feel that way... as I recall you were head over heels in love with the boy..."

Ouch Lina, Ouch. Way to be a best friend.

I immediately took to defending myself. "I plead temporary insanity... not that I was ever quite as bad as you make me out to be. I may have had a tiny crush on him but it was nothing big! And that was before I found out what a bigheaded rumor-spreading jerk he is." I could feel my cheeks starting to turn rosy like they always did when I got passionate about something. Damn my fair skin.

"Katie you know that's not true!! You used to obsess over him! You'd make sure you looked okay just to go down into the common room, and if you got down there and he wasn't around you got depressed. Just admit it..." Now Christine was joining in. Merlin, what great friends I have.

"She has a point Katie. You used to go all googly eyed over him at practice. Always had to do your best to impress him..." Lina added. I could have yelled about a million things at Lina just then. Some of them were quite evil actually… something along the lines of 'You're just jealous because I've always had more talent than you!' I was that angry. Angry enough to severely hurt my best friend's feelings. I don't like people pointing out my shortcomings, in case you can't tell. However, I decided there was no reason trying to talk to the two of them if they were going to be like this. So I folded my arms over my chest, leaned back again, and stared out the window.

"And now we're stuck with Moody Katie, great" Christine added under her breath, not realizing that in the limited space of the train compartment and the silence that had settled over us, I would be able to hear her. Suddenly I didn't feel too bad about hitting her with my bag. I shot her my signature Katie-Bell-Death-Glare then turned back to the window.

About an hour and a quarter later the train pulled into Hogsmeade station. The three of us hurried out of our compartment and managed to snag a coach together. I was still a little hurt by their comments but in the silence that had occupied the train with us, I had been forced to think about them. Part of it was true… I had had a crush on Oliver Wood. But as I mentioned probably a billion times in my argument with Christine and Angelina, that was before I found out that he wasn't above spreading nasty rumors. And the rumor sure had been nasty. By the end of last year I had finally gotten rid of it for the most part. I think. I hope. I'm sure some people still remember but I think everyone knows it's not true now. Once again, I think. I hope. After all, I did hit some Slytherin kid in the jaw for teasing me about it. The two months of detention had well been worth stopping those bloody snakes from talking about it and spreading the rumor more.

And the fact that I –may- have had a crush on him in the past was pointless. I despise him with a passion now. Honestly, I don't know what I ever saw in the boy. In my opinion, he has no redeeming qualities about him whatsoever. Maybe his talent on the quidditch field, but that is definitely not enough to make me like him, not even the tiniest bit. As far as I'm concerned, he can go play in traffic. The world would not be lacking anything. As a matter of fact, we'd all probably be a lot better off without him around. One less jerk of male to deal with would be a relief.

It was bad enough he and I were in the same house, but to make matters worse he just happened to be the captain of the quidditch team. Which I'm on. Makes practices interesting at least. Well, interesting for the rest of the team. We've had too many rows during practice to count. I was so angry at him one time, I threw the quaffle extra hard while practicing goals and it just so happened to hit him square in the face and break his nose. The great thing was I couldn't get detention for that. I just claimed it to be an accident. I think Lina knew it wasn't. Oliver might have as well. That just goes to show just how much I dislike, no –hate- him.

After the brief ride up to the castle we joined the throng of students squeezing their way in through the doors and to the main hall. It was about half-way full and Angelina, Christine and I hurried to sit down at the Gryffindor table. I was especially careful in where we sat; I didn't want to be stuck sitting near Wood. I definitely did not need to spend dinner hearing him brag about his latest 'conquests' to his equally as unintelligent friends. Nor did I want to deal with watching his fan club swooning all over the place. Something like that is sickening enough to make a girl lose her appetite. Luckily, however, I didn't even see him in the hall when I entered.

We'd only been sitting for a moment when Kevin McGee, a fellow sixth year, took a seat next to Christine. "Did you hear what all the fuss was about on the train?" He didn't wait for us to answer, just continued talking. "It was dementors from Azkaban. They came on board to search for Sirius Black." The mere thought of dementors sent chills down my spine. I'd never seen one, but being pure-blooded I most definitely knew what they were. I also knew what was going on with Sirius Black. It seemed to be the only topic of discussion among my family this summer. I was sick and tired of hearing about it.

Just as I was about to tell Kevin that, I realized he had turned to tell other people about the incident. Saved me the breath at least. I wasn't really in the mood much to talk at all. The argument with my friends had put me in a bad mood. I was ready for the feast to start and to get up to Gryffindor Tower.


	2. Chapter 2

((A/N: Sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. Real life kind of got in the way. Hopefully the next chapter (which will be the practice) will be up quickly.))

"Checkmate."

"Damn you Lina," I replied, completely baffled by the fact that Angelina had just beaten me for the third time in a row. "When did you get so good at Wizard's Chess? I used to at least have a shot…" I had managed to make it through the Welcoming Feast, and mid-way through Angelina apologized for being a bitch. Well, those weren't her exact words, but close enough. I was glad she said something though; I tend to be one to hold a grudge and if she had let me be angry a bit longer the two of us may have gone through the rest of the year with no best friend. I haven't talked to Christine yet though, and I can't say whether or not I care. Lina has a right to point out things like Oliver Wood, she is my best friend. Christine on the other hand isn't as close with me. In all truth, it used to be Lina, Alicia Spinnet and I who were really close, since we're all chasers together. That changed when Alicia started dating Lee Jordan. That's when Christine came into the picture.

"Another game?" Angelina asked teasingly. I shot her a look and she immediately dissolved into laughter. I merely shook my head and propped my feet up onto the couch I was sitting on. The common room was surprisingly empty; most people must have gone up to their dormitories to catch up with their year mates about the summer. As I stretched out on the couch, I closed my eyes. The familiar feel of the common room was relaxing… I was about to fall asleep. And then I felt a giant lump sit down right on my stomach.

"Ooof" I exclaimed as my eyes fluttered open. The first sight that greeted me was a flash of brilliant red hair. Whoever was sitting on me was no doubt a Weasley. Upon closer examination I realized it was one of the twins, George to be exact. "Bloody hell George! What exactly are you doing?"

"We were just coming to find our favorite gits—I mean girls," replied Fred, who had plopped down next to Angelina. I shot Fred what was intended to be a Death Glare but ended up being a bit softer; it was then I noticed his arm around Lina. The two had gotten together at the end of last year and it had definitely been expected by everyone.

"Get off me George!" I yelled as I pushed George, trying to get him off me. I was failing miserably at the attempt. Finally, with a loud sigh, I gave up any hopes of getting him off me, and just crossed my arms and laid there.

"Awww is poor little Katie aggravated?" George asked teasingly, and my response was a swift punch in the side. He faked being hurt worse than he was which prompted another punch from me. "Quit that!" he told me as he slid to sit next to me, rather than on me.

"Do you have a real reason for coming over here, or was it just to annoy me?" I asked.

In perfect unison, the twins replied, "Annoy you!" and then accompanied that with their lopsided grins. Some things will never change. Such as the maturity level of two boys who want to run a joke shop for a living.

"But seriously Kate, we came to tell you about," George began.

"Quidditch. First practice is at 8 tomorrow morning." Fred finished for him.

I was shocked to say the least. We had JUST gotten back to school. What in Merlin's name was Wood thinking?

"But that's.." I started to say but was cut off by Fred and George.

"Ridiculous." "We know..." "But Wood's obsessed." "Has to win the cup this year" "It's his last chance."

Six years and I was just now getting used to the Twins talking as one. They did make a good point though. It was Oliver's seventh year and he had yet to accomplish the one thing he wanted most-- to win the Quidditch cup. We'd come close the past two years, but each time something had stopped us. Something involving Harry Potter to be exact. Which is a bit ironic, if you think about it, since Harry is the main reason we have a shot at the cup.

Quidditch cup or not, an 8 am practice on the first full day back was not justifiable. We would do just as well with say... an afternoon practice. I supposed there was nothing I could do about it. I just had to get a good night's sleep and hope Wood could manage to not be a jerk for once in his life. Wishful thinking. Mornings are never the best time for me, and a morning with Oliver seemed like a potentially dangerous situation.


	3. Chapter 3

((A/N: I know that in the books, Katie would technically be a fourth year in PoA. However, I'm taking some artistic liberty here and making her a sixth year. Assuming I stick to my plans for the story, it'll make a difference later on.))

"Katie, get up! It's already 7:50... practice is in ten minutes!" a voice from somewhere nearby interrupted my peaceful slumber for about the 80th time that morning. Angelina had been trying desperately to wake me up since 7, but had failed miserably thus far. In my opinion, it was entirely too early to get up, quidditch practice or not. Oliver could wait. I mean, it wasn't like we had a really tough game that night or anything. Our first match wasn't for another three weeks, and granted we would be playing Slytherin, but it didn't matter; we'd beaten them before after all. I pulled my blankets up to cover my head, then rolled over and attempted to go back to sleep.

Suddenly, I was freezing. Angelina, the clever girl she is, had ripped the covers off me.

Like that would make a difference.

I opened my eyes long enough to glare at Lina, then slammed them shut and covered my head with my pillow. That didn't stop Lina either. She yanked the pillow away from me then promptly whacked me in the face with it. Merlin, she annoyed me at times. But I knew she was only doing what she thought was best for me. Key word being thought.

"Fine, fine," I mumbled groggily as I climbed out of bed and headed for the bathroom. Might as well make myself presentable at least. I certainly didn't have time for a shower, but what would be the point anyway? I was just going to have to take one after practice. I splashed some water on my face, then brushed my teeth. After pulling my hair back into a ponytail, I was officially done with my morning beauty routine, if you could even call it that. I changed into my clothes for practice, which consisted of a pair of athletic pants and an Appleby Arrows shirt. The Arrows aren't my favorite team (that would be Puddlemere) but my brother played chaser for them so they came in at a close second.

I had just stood up after putting on my shoes, when Alicia came tromping up from the common room with a napkin in her hand. "Breakfast!" I exclaimed, and rushed towards her to grab it.

"Eat as you walk," Alicia commanded, rather amused. "And don't expect me to do this all year! From now on if you want breakfast you can get up in time to get it for yourself." And with that, the three of us grabbed our brooms and headed down to the pitch.

We walked in silence through the commonroom and down to the main hall. I took advantage of this time to scarf down the toast Alicia had so thoughtfully gotten for me. Perhaps this year she would go back to being the last part of our trio. I just couldn't understand why it was so difficult for her to balance a boyfriend and best friends. Lina managed to do it...My thoughts were interrupted by Alicia elbowing me in the ribs and asking, "So you going to get in a fight with Wood this morning?" I rolled my eyes then pushed her back.

"We don't _always_ fight at practice...just occasionally..." I replied, knowing I wasn't fooling her at all.

"If occasionally means just about every other practice, then you're telling the truth," Angie commented, " Its amazing he hasn't kicked you off the team yet. You are the only person I know who can make Oliver that mad." She paused, and there was a look of what I chose to believe was admiration upon her face, but it just as easily could have been amusement.

"Either way," Alicia added, "when you two row, it usually means practice is over...could you fight early this time?" This caused Alicia and Angelina to burst into giggles. At first I didn't find it quite as amusing, but a minute or so of their laughter and I had joined in, just as we entered the pitch.

"You're late," Oliver snarled as soon as he caught sight of the three of us laughing. Typical Wood. No way would he be lenient on the first practice back. That would be asking too much. "However," he continued, "the twins aren't even here yet so I can't be that angry."

Did I hear correctly? Oliver Wood just said he couldn't be that angry. About something pertaining to quidditch. What was the world coming to?

I was apparently not the only one shocked, for Angelina had stepped forward and placed the palm of her hand on Wood's forehead. "You feeling alright there, Captain?" she questioned, a look of mock worry on her face. "Perhaps you should head up to the hospital wing; this is definitely not normal behavior for you." She bit her lip, apparently trying not giggle, and just behind her Alicia and I were trying to do the same.

"Cut it out!" Wood roared, a serious look upon his face. "I try to cut the three of you some slack and this is the response I get?" All thoughts of not being 'that angry' were now gone for Oliver. This sudden change in attitude was weird, even for Wood. Just as I was about to open my mouth and respond to Wood, he cut me off, yelling "And don't you even start Bell! I don't want to hear it."

Looked like Alicia was going to get her wish. A yelling match between Oliver and I was now inevitable. He had yelled at me without giving me a chance to speak... how did he know I wasn't going to side with him? I wasn't going to support him, but that was besides the point.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with you Wood?" I angrily spat at him. Angelina merely shook her head and sat down on the ground, with Alicia joining her shortly after. Harry Potter stood there awkwardly; he still wasn't used to our rows. "First of all, you should have realized some of us would end up being late since you were crazy enough to schedule a practice this early on the first day back. And secondly, I don't appreciate being told to shut it. If you're going to be an ass to us, I'm gonna say something, whether you tell or not you tell me to."

"You want to know what's wrong with me Bell? You really want to know?" Wood replied, his eyes blazing. "I don't think you guys take this as seriously as I do. We should have won the cup these past two years, but unfortunetly things got in our way…" At this point his eyes shot to Harry, and I was livid.

"Don't you dare bring Harry into this at all! He's been nothing but wonderful for the team! He can't help anything that has happened and you know that. And secondly, don't question the rest of the team's dedication. You are not the only one who cares about quidditch… just because we're not obsessed like you!" At times, I am amazed by how loud I can yell. Angelina was wincing at this point, and Harry had joined my fellow chasers in sitting on the ground. He was nervously pulling up grass, and seemed to feel very awkward. I felt a surge of pity for the younger boy.

"You know what," Oliver stated, his tone now cold and calm, "we should get to practice." And with that, he picked the quaffle up off the ground and chunked it at me. Luckily, my reflexes were on top form and I managed to catch the red ball. He had thrown it hard however, so it slightly knocked the wind out of me. I shot him the Katie-Bell-Death-Glare, which he knew better than anyone, and was just about to reply when the twins came stalking up.

They quickly took in the situation, and realization dawned on their identical faces. "Oh no, we haven't missed it have we!" exclaimed one, I think it was George. "Seriously," added the second one, presumably Fred, "we're maybe ten minutes late and Katie and Oliver have rowed already!"

"Yes well," broke in Oliver's scathing voice, "Bell just doesn't know when she's fighting a losing battle…" He hadn't. Was he really stupid enough to insult me while I was holding a quaffle? He would never learn. Without thinking, I hurled the quaffle with all my might at Oliver's face and then immediately turned and started walking off the pitch. I heard a sickening crunch behind me, accompanied by Oliver's moan of pain.

"She bwoke my nod!" I heard him exclaim, but even that was not enough to stop me. I had no desire to be around Oliver Wood anymore that day.


End file.
